The Beatles and drugs

The Beatles' story is inextricably linked with drugs. From their early pre-fame days on Benzedrine and Preludin, to the flower-power era of LSD, and onto harder drugs as the 1960s ended, here's a broadly-chronological overview of what they took and when.

I never felt any responsibility, being a so-called idol. It's wrong of people to expect it. What they are doing is putting their responsibilities on us, as Paul said to the newspapers when he admitted taking LSD. If they were worried about him being responsible, they should have been responsible enough and not printed it, if they were genuinely worried about people copying.

Benzedrine

In the Anthology book, John Lennon is quoted as saying his first encounter with drugs was the use of the stimulant Benzedrine, via a somewhat unorthodox method.

The first drugs I ever took, I was still at art school, with the group - we all took it together - was Benzedrine from the inside of an inhaler.

John Lennon, 1974
Anthology

They were introduced to the drug by the beat poet Royston Ellis, whom The Beatles backed in Liverpool one night for a poetry reading.

According to George Harrison, "Ellis had discovered that if you open a Vick's inhaler you find Benzedrine in it, impregnated into the cardboard divide." According to Lennon, "everyone thought, 'Wow! What's this?' and talked their mouths off for a night."

In later years Royston Ellis claimed to have inspired The Beatles' Paperback Writer. He also played a part in Polythene Pam, which was about his girlfriend Stephanie. John Lennon reportedly had an encounter with the pair in Jersey in August 1963 following a concert.

[Polythene Pam] was me, remembering a little event with a woman in Jersey, and a man who was England's answer to Allen Ginsberg, who gave us our first exposure - this is so long - you can't deal with all this. You see, everything triggers amazing memories. I met him when we were on tour and he took me back to his apartment and I had a girl and he had one he wanted me to meet. He said she dressed up in polythene, which she did. She didn't wear jackboots and kilts, I just sort of elaborated. Perverted sex in a polythene bag. Just looking for something to write about.

John Lennon, 1980
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

Paul McCartney had another experience with Benzedrine, though several years later. When living with Jane Asher's family in London in the mid-1960s, her father, Dr Richard Asher, told McCartney once again how the drug could be extracted from an inhaler.

Dr Asher loved to shock his family. Once, when Paul had a bad cold, Dr Asher wrote him a prescription for a nasal inhaler and showed him how to use it. 'You take off the top and place it on your little finger, like so.' He demonstrated. 'Then you take a sniff with each nostril as per normal; then, after you've finished with it, you can unscrew the bottom and eat the Benzedrine.' Peter shuffled his feet nervously and Paul grinned, not knowing how much he could confide in the good doctor. Paul: 'We learned about that stuff up in Liverpool but hearing it coming from him was quite strange.'

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

Amphetamines

The Beatles were introduced to drugs in Hamburg. To get through the long nights performing in the drunken clubs of the Reeperbahn, they were given Preludin, or 'prellies' - German slimming pills which removed their appetites and gave them the energy to take their stage shows to new, often chaotic, levels.

In Hamburg the waiters always had Preludin - and various other pills, but I remember Preludin because it was such a big trip - and they were all taking these pills to keep themselves awake, to work these incredible hours in this all-night place. And so the waiters, when they'd see the musicians falling over with tiredness or with drink, they'd give you the pill. You'd take the pill, you'd be talking, you'd sober up, you could work almost endlessly - until the pill wore off, then you'd have to have another.

It has been claimed that Tony Sheridan introduced them to the pills in 1961, telling them: "Here's something to keep you awake." Other groups on the circuit used them too, and for many they became the normal way to get through a series of lengthy shows. The club owners didn't mind; Preludin caused dryness of the mouth, which led to more beer being drunk and better on-stage performances.

This was the point of our lives when we found pills, uppers. That's the only way we could continue playing for so long. They were called Preludin, and you could buy them over the counter. We never thought we were doing anything wrong, but we'd get really wired and go on for days. So with beer and Preludin, that's how we survived.

They were also given Preludin by Astrid Kirchherr, who took it from her mother's medicine cabinet. The Hamburg club staff, too, would keep the groups supplied with the pills.

They were actually pills to make slimming easier for you. We used to take them with a couple of beers. They made you just a little speedy. But you can't compare it to speed from today or cocaine or anything. It's just baby food compared to that.

Astrid Kirchherr, 1996

During their various trips to Hamburg, Pete Best stuck to alcohol, and Paul McCartney was reportedly less keen on indulging, but John Lennon, in particular, became a frequent user of stimulants.

The speed thing first came from the gangsters. Looking back, they were probably thirty years old but they seemed fifty... They would send a little tray of schnapps up to the band and say, 'You must do this: Bang bang, ya! Proost!' Down in one go. The little ritual. So you'd do that, because these were the owners. They made a bit of fun of us but we played along and let them because we weren't great heroes, we needed their protection and this was life or death country. There were gas guns and murderers amongst us, so you weren't messing around here. They made fun of us because our name, the Beatles, sounded very like the German 'Peedles' which means 'little willies'. 'Oh, zee Peedles! Ha ha ha!' They loved that. It appealed directly to the German sense of humour, that did. So we'd let it be a joke, and we'd drink the schnapps and they'd occasionally send up pills, prellies, Prel­udin, and say, 'Take one of these.'

I knew that was dodgy. I sensed that you could get a little too wired on stuff like that. I went along with it the first couple of times, but eventually we'd be sitting there rapping and rapping, drinking and drinking, and going faster and faster, and I remember John turning round to me and saying, 'What are you on, man? What are you on?' I said, 'Nothin'! 'S great, though, isn't it!' Because I'd just get buoyed up by their conversation. They'd be on the prellies and I would have decided I didn't really need one, I was so wired anyway. Or I'd maybe have one pill, while the guys, John particularly, would have four or five during the course of an evening and get totally wired. I always felt I could have one and get as wired as they got just on the conversation. So you'd find me up just as late as all of them, but without the aid of the prellies. This was good because it meant I didn't have to get into sleeping tablets. I tried all of that but I didn't like sleeping tablets, it was too heavy a sleep. I'd wake up at night and reach for a glass of water and knock it over. So I suppose I was a little bit more sensible than some of the other guys in rock 'n' roll at that time. Something to do with my Liverpool upbringing made me exercise caution.

65 responses on “The Beatles and drugs”

Wow! Great article indeed. I wasn’t aware of the details provided within this piece. I thought that John & Yoko were using needles and they didn’t. Didn’t know about Paul & coke.
But still, there’s a graveyard with drug wasted rock ‘n roll players but you won’t find any one of the Fab Four lying there.

I have TREMENDOUS respect for Paul moreso than the rest of the Beatles, I have to say. And yet, you are probably correct. He WAS indeed fond of the Weed, and even known to publicly defend it as he (claims that he) was able to control the effects of the weed and never really experienced withdrawal associated with its disuse.

And to be fair, it was probably true for Paul. He might have indeed been proud of the fact that he could use Marijuana at will, and not missing it nor having any withdrawals when he didn’t.

Pothead and Proud of it? Or should we make it Proud Pothead Paul…? ::giggles::

Nobody ever has withdrawal when they stop smoking pot man. I do it all the time, and so does everyone else who smokes. I doubt Paul was unintelligent enough to think that weed was addictive, when he clearly realized other drugs, such as heroin, are the ones that lead you down the wrong path.

The point is, everyone knows grass is docile and harmless, including Paul, and if someone smoking pot has a chance of diminishing your image of someone, you are simply ignorant.

Not true. I smoked weed 3 times a day for 6 months. Had constant anxiety and paranoia, and symptoms of schizophrenia emerge. I was high 24/7, I didn’t care about anything anymore, life felt meaningless, and I would get stuck in my head with these long inner monologues. I felt like every day was a fight to keep my consciousness from dissolving. And even when I quit cold turkey, I had wicked bad withdrawals. I craved it as much as it tortured me.
I don’t think cannabis is entirely bad or good. I just think it’s really ignorant to claim that it’s great for everyone, or not great for everyone. It effects everyone differently. And it is possible to have terrible trips on weed and withdrawals. I think people with already thin boundaries of self and delicately formed egos can’t handle something that really puts your mind to the test.

Very sensible. For me, it’s penicilin; that stuff almost killed me three times, but neither I nor my doctor realized it. Marijuana I like. And I don’t think you can get addicted to it–not in the same way as alcohol, tobacco, heroin, barbituates, cocaine, speed, caffeine, sugar, television, sex, power, or chocolate. Marijuana: I can smoke it or leave it alone. I’d rather smoke it, and I did off and on–mostly on–for 32 years, but I finally got so fed up with having to be a criminal, and hassle to find it and afford it WHEN IT IS A WEED THAT CAN GROW FOR FREE!, that I just gave it up. Someday, I profoundly hope, the power-addicted people will get the hell out of the way, and leave people alone, and then I’ll smoke it legally. Hurry the day.

medical opinion is for the doctor fraternity I have been smoking since 73 and when i go on my hols or anywhere else for any lenght of time I put my so called drug use on a back burner and completely forget about it untill i get home … you can give 2 aspirin to some folk and they think it a session, people who get affected by weed so alarmingly should not even drink alcohol because i drink half bottle of whisky and a few cans inside 3-4 hours regulary the (friends) who occasionally drink with me sometimes get so drunk they are either sick or pass out and those same folk can’t handle it . some folk can some folk can’t if they dont like/want it they should stay away from it and let the likes of lennon or anybody else like myself do their thing.

As Mike Love, lead singer of the Beach Boys once put it (referring to Brian Wilson), “To some people, pot is no biggie. To other people, it gives them psychotic episodes, makes them paranoid, or schizophrenic. To this day he still has a lot of paranoia.” As Love points out, however, there ARE some people can handle it fine and, I would add, appear to receive much benefit from it if using it for a medical condition.

Ringo said on The Beatles Talk Drugs {FROM A DOCUMENTARY OF SOME SORT} that when they took more than just a little pot there music was shit,and theyd be happy withit till they came in straight the next day

I believe Yoko has said they had four separate periods on heroin. She also said the hardest to kick was methadone, which they’d heard was like heroin but non-addictive. So they started taking it, not as a substitute to heroin, as they weren’t addicts at the time. After finally kicking that she said they never became addicted to anything again.

I too heard this – far from baking bread and being a househusband (as told to Andy Peebles Dec 1980), don’t ask me where, but at LEAST two, maybe three sources have John hanging out with Uncle Henry, and especially heavily during the period when Jack Daniels and Harry Nilsson were his other constant companions.
Personally, when I first became acquainted with Henry, it was mid-70s and greyish-white, water soluble, very strong stuff from Thailand, with the brandname “Double Globe” on every compressed slab wrapped in clear plastic with red printing, each a little more than 250g. From 1981, all that could be had in UK was this brown, adulterated, much weaker stuff from Afghanistan, paid for by the CIA & US Govt; a result of their allies like Osama bin Laden maximising the millions given to them to aid their anti-Soviet campaign.
I had developed a reaction to cannabis which made it unpleasant and often frightening. And just as I was thoroughly enjoying the best H made, this USA funded Afghan brown arrived, and has been with us ever since. I pray for the day I find a containerload of Double Globe (which is still, even post- Khun Sa, still available, grown and processed by the same hill tribes.
Heroin is benign. It does no damage to the body and vital organs, unlike any other social relaxant. It clears my mind and aids my thinking; other drugs screw it up. Fraser was correct in that the only real problem is running out when you have a habit on. Great for physical and emotional pain, it is obvious to me that John would be the most likely Beatle to indulge. And “Cold Turkey” (whilst being the worst way possible to break a habit) SOUNDS LIKE IT FEELS!! That painful descending riff tells the eight-day horror story perfectly.

Yes, likely on the H question circa 70s re: John. And sadly, Yoko as well may have been “flirting with the White Horse” during the ’70s, and at least up until John’s passing. That is, if you believe some of the rather dubious bios. But the evidence does look fairly solid. Paul is a different story. As far as I’m concerned Paul totally stopped doing drugs in the 1970s, because natural green comestibles are of course nothing but food.

Interesting how all four ex-Beatles had their own preferences, drugwise: Paul liked weed, booze for Ringo, heroin for John and apparently George was quite fond of coke for a time, something I only learned recently and found somewhat surprising.

I LOVE your druggie nickname! I’d make it Proud Pothead Paul – since he was known to defend the use of the substance and throughout the 80s he constantly maintained that he could use and discontinue using at will, with no effect nor withdrawals whatsoever.

I’m a huge advocate for legalization. In fact, I’m in favor of ending drug prohibition and The War On Drugs entirely (as there is ample evidence this does more harm to society than good.) And further, I believe that marijuana is the safest of all the recreational drugs, and I agree that it also has some wonderful properties which make it useful as medicine, as well. HOWEVER, that being said, your comment is untrue.

You need to understand that everyone is different. Both in terms of their specific neurochemistry, and their psychology. Addiction and habituation are both physiological and psychological phenomena. In a physiological sense, if you use something daily, for a period of YEARS, your body and mind are going to become used to it. There is no way around this (that we know of, yet). This is why a new user can take a few puffs and get so stoned it’s almost psychedelic, and someone who has been smoking daily for years, can smoke a joint and then take an exam.

When one smokes for so long that the normal effects of the substance are muted, abrupt cessation CAN cause some issues, for some people.

And in a psychological sense, a person can become “addicted” to anything. While very different than, say, the physiological addiction that opiates cause, this psychological addiction can still have a powerful grip, making cessation challenging. And you need to understand that a person’s PROPENSITY for addiction is a very important factor, and will vary considerably from person to person.

Have you never known “that person” who could smoke a cigarette, or take a drink, once in a blue moon… then stop and not touch it again for many weeks, or months? I’ve known a small handful of these people over the decades. They exist, and they annoy the bejeezus out of easily-addicted types such as myself. (I say that playfully, of course. I wouldn’t wish addiction on anyone.) Then of course there are the people who seem, if they touch it once, will want to keep going forever. Far too many of us fall into this category.

I have seen some of the worst that addiction can bring. And even for someone with a propensity for addiction, stopping long term marijuana use is a walk in the park compared to quitting an opiate addiction. But it is still challenging. And if it’s not for you, then you are one of the LUCKY ones. Some people have a hard time quitting POTATO CHIPS, or SODA, let alone a powerful mind-altering substance which calms our nerves and helps us relax.

And I understand that people like yourself just get upset to see something you enjoy slandered, made to look bad. And there has been so much ridiculous anti-drug propaganda for so long, that there seems to be a tendency among advocates to swing toward the other extreme– as if the stuff is the Salve Of The Gods and could “do you no harm.” I think the truth, as with most things, lies somewhere in between. Most adults can use cannabis safely. Used once in a while, its effects seem to be mostly positive and pleasant. More frequent use increases likelihood of negative effects, or possibly habituation in some individuals.

Just try to understand that everyone is different, and not everyone is like you. Hopefully you understand where I’m coming from.

There most certainly are withdrawals from Marijuana. My boyfriend’s sister was addicted for nine years, smoking everyday all day and she had one hell of a time getting off it. Rehab didn’t even work. But my boyfriend was also on it for a few years and if he went a few hours without any, he would get awful cramps and have uncontrollable mood swings, sometimes he would throw up. He was cold one minute and hot the next, if I touched him it hurt. Not to mention the paranoia, anxiety, dulling of the mind.

Er hash man Harrison obviously and to the ” no I freaked out on canabis and got paranoid ” we’ll on sorry to sound harsh but you argument holds no water only 1.5 people on 10 have that sever of a traction the rest of us don’t hide in a closet and stab everything that comes. Near you we just feel calm and relaxed and we can stop and start at will with no adverse affects

It would just be “Joint George” or “Joint Man George”. As such since, like Paul, George was rather well-known as a hashish fan and hash comes from pot. Use a bit of liberal imagination and the J/G lettering conflict seemingly inherent within “Joint George” will disappear like Magical Dragons in a Puff of smoke!

Absolutely awesome article. A few spelling mistakes, but still very good. Some great quotes in it. I think that one of George’s saying that its all about your acceptance of the world really struck me. Like really struck me.

This is a fascinating intro into their experiences with drug abuse. I was suprised to hear how a doctor actually helped Paul use Benzedrine. Its interesting to see the parallel’s with today’s society since parents also get caught providing their kids with drugs and alcohol.

Interesting article though maybe it has too few sources albiet impeccible ones. People can get addicted to water let alone pot. That said pot is one of the least harmful things you can take including cigarettes and booze. While I do think people can abuse it, it in itself is a farily docile drug.

As someone who prefers their early albums and believes that they peaked at A Hard Day’s Night soundtrack this is very interesting information. I knew a good deal of this history but now I feel much better educated. I love many types of music but the genres I know best and hold dearest are 70’s British punk and 50’s rock n roll. That being said, it’s easy to picture why I would prefer a band on uppers as opposed to a band on psychedelics or downers. Best option of course is to avoid the lot of em altogether.

I have LONG suspected it was John’s heroin addiction that actually did in the Beatles- brought on by Ono’s introduction of heroin to Lennon. I think the lyrics to the song “Too Many People” on McCartney’s Ram album spells it out in a not so cryptic fashion.

“Too many people going underground…

Too Many People Sharing Party Lines
Too Many People Never Sleeping Late
Too Many People Paying Parking Fines
Too Many Hungry People Losing Weight

That Was Your First Mistake
You Took Your Lucky Break And Broke It In Two
Now What Can Be Done For You
You Broke It In Two”

I have been listening to the Beatles for years and suspected John Lennon of heroin abuse, but until the Internet came around with great articles like this, I never really had any sources to confirm my suspicions.

Honestly, the more I read about the darker side of the Beatles, the more my adoration and respect for McCartney and his talent has grown. While I really like a lot of Lennon’s solo music, it REALLY becomes apparent McCartney was the driving force behind the Beatles and their best music from a little before the mid-point of their collaboration. His control just kicked into high gear at the Pepper album.

I’ve read in several places Lennon started to withdraw from the partnership and resent Paul and his talent when it became apparent to him that he could no longer keep up with him creatively.

I, personally, think Ono was a rock around Lennon’s neck, but he did himself and the Beatles in all by himself.

I agree Bryan – and I have stated so on different spots on this site – the single greatest issue leading to The Beatles’ breakup was John’s heroin addiction. As Paul has said and others have intimated – it made John impossible to deal with – they couldn’t communicate with him (FYI – I’m more a Lennon fan than McCartney fan).

Remove the heroin and I assert that they would have stayed together a few more years, amicably have wound down, and remained friends with probable reunions from time to time.

Yes it’s conjecture but it’s my conjecture. But it’s heroin that did them in – and yes that was Yoko’s doing.

John Lennon contributed to the last 3 albums the Beatles made while on heroin. He did quit the habit in July 1969 (at least for awhile) and wrote Cold Turkey as a result while continuing to work on Abbey Road until the sessions ended.
The biggest reason for the break up IMO was the revelation that Paul had been buying shares of Northern Songs behind John’s back. At the same time Paul was trying to get his in-laws to become the Beatles’ manager. John was outraged at this betrayal and walked out of the meeting.
Therefore their Northern Songs negotiations fell apart. Paul to this day has never commented on his actions.
After their last tour, there still would have been Beatles music, including the overrated Pepper, whether Paul was the leader or not. But Paul’s great” ideas” such as the Magical Mystery Tour movie fiasco and the Get Back sessions (while being filmed) were also big nails in the Beatle coffin.

The entire concept and most of the songs on Pepper and the albums which followed were from Paul. It’s well documented. To say there would have been a Pepper without Paul is flat out wrong. There would have been no Beatles without Paul holding them together the last few years.

Most of the songs which followed Sgt. Pepper were from Paul?
On Abbey Road half of the songs were written by the combination of the other three Beatles.
More than half of the songs on the White Album and Let It Be Naked were written by the same combination.
Paul was the main person behind Pepper but without the contributions of the other three the album would not be the same.
Please quote the documentation which you say proves that Paul wrote most of the songs which followed Pepper.

My name is Mickey Fischer. I traveled with led zep at 18 yrs. old. Royston Ellis was on the tour and got me on it too. All he would say is” These guys are always high on something”. And the last thing I would have ever thought is that he first gave the beatles benzedrene!! He actually stopped taking me to Jimmy Pages house In plumpton England because he said I idolized them too much and he was worried I would consume drugs like them.

Cynthia: “Within weeks of his first trip, John was taking LSD daily and I became more and more worried. I couldn’t reach him when he was tripping, but when the effects wore off he would be normal until he took it again.”

What is that woman talking about? Apparently not LSD. If LSD is taken daily, the effects wear out very quickly, after one week, at the latest, you feel precisely nothing. I’d presume that’s but a made-up declaration during their divorce proceeding.

I agree. In my experiences, you have to drop more and more LSD each subsequent day you take it to feel the effects. For me, a hit or two one night can blow my mind – the next night, anything I take is pretty much a waste of good acid. Furthermore, i typically have to wait a week between doses for my natural brain chemical levels to restore to really feel the effects to their maximum potential. So I also find it hard to believe John was dosing every day for that long. Although, I do remember hearing or reading somewhere that he admitted to it as well. So who knows…

The beatles were the real deal their music streched accross the globe and their music will stand the test of time.As for the drugs were what inspired them to write the most incredible music that moves eachone of us like it was written for Me thanks pot,herion.booze but coke and george he was too spiritual for that i always thought of mr harrison as a opomium or payote.anyways thanks guys this is a good site with alot of good articles about my fav band of all time

I agree the Beatles music will stand the test of time and they will be known as one of if not the best of all time for eternity. Regarding Johns heroin use I read somewhere Yoko stated they were lucky they had a greedy dealer who put so much cut in it he made it very weak. She also said they never injected only snorted because they were both afraid of needles. How true that is I could not swear on it but I have read similar statements in what appears to be legitimate publications. I always thought John was really into LSD. Before his last album he said he would mix endless types of drugs and lie in bed constantly flipping the remote to the tv for months at a time until “all the color washed out of my eyes”. Regardless of what drugs they did or didn’t do I will listen to their music until I leave this world.

Marijuana does have an artistic effect on me which is profound. I feel that marijuana has improved my quality of life and offers me a recreational substitute to alcohol or prescription pills to which I was quite addicted.

Being as john lennon paid ausley stanly an undisclosed amount of money for lsd for life I have no doubt he had enough to trip as many times as he claimed. He talked about total ego loss by 68 when he got with yoko. Ego death is a side effect from long term experience with lsd.

It’s quite possible john was in denial about not injecting heroin. If you believe Pete Shotton in his book “In my life”, he wrote that in late 68, he saw syringes at montagu square where John and Yoko were living at the time. But who are we to judge anyway?

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